Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 200 Movie Release
It's better to release it earlier than to show it at night.

Since the movie Avatar has taken up the release slot that was suitable for Lost on Journey, it would be better to release Lost on Journey earlier.

Although there were a few seemingly threatening films in December 09, the overall pressure wasn't that great.

Li Boda reviewed the December 2009 movie release schedule again. Zhang Yimou's "A Simple Noodle Story" was released on December 10th, and "Bodyguards and Assassins" was released on December 17th. This effectively filled the middle of December.

Therefore, the most suitable release time for "Lost in Thailand" would be early or late December, avoiding the middle of the month.

Li Boda then thought of Avatar and finally decided to set the release date of Lost on Journey for December 5th.

Master Han nodded as he looked at the time Li Boda had chosen; the time was indeed suitable.

As the head of China Film Group, Master Han knew more than Li Boda.

For example, the movie "Avatar" is a foreign film. To be released in China, it also needs to undergo censorship, and in some aspects, the censorship is even stricter, since the number of foreign films released in China each year is limited. Naturally, the selection process is very selective, choosing only the best films.

Since Avatar already had a confirmed release date in China at this point, it means that the film had already been submitted to China Film Group for review, and Han Sanye had already seen the finished film.

Having seen it, Han Sanye absolutely does not recommend that the movie "Lost in Thailand" be released in January.

However, there are some things he can't say, since they would violate his principles, right?

However, giving a slight hint or something is still acceptable.

So in the end, Li Boda decided to release the movie "Lost in Thailand" on December 5th, which pleased Han Sanye.

Once the release date was set, Li Boda and Sister Wang left China Film Group.

After leaving China Film Group, Sister Wang couldn't help but ask, "Is that [Avatar] really that amazing?"

"He must be very powerful, otherwise Third Master Han wouldn't have secretly given us hints," Li Boda said, nodding.

"Tsk, I wonder what Avatar is about, or what makes it so great. Luckily, our film has investment from China Film Group, otherwise, if we had released it in January, we would have been like an egg hitting a rock," Sister Wang sighed.

"Actually, it's not that serious. Even if Avatar is amazing, it can't possibly dominate everything. After all, a movie can only be watched once or twice, not three, four, or five times. Even if our movie is released in January, although it will be affected to some extent, it won't be too much of a problem, since the subject matter is different," Li Boda said, shaking his head.

"Huh? If that's the case, then did Third Master Han give us a hint?"

"You forgot, besides Avatar, there's another big-budget film, Confucius, which was also invested in by China Film Group. Master Han is worried that if our film is released in January, it will compete with Confucius for the remaining market share of Avatar. The threat from Avatar is ultimately too great."

Sister Wang suddenly realized what was going on, and then she felt that their movie was treated like a stepmother by Master Han, and its status was not comparable to that of "Confucius".

But thinking about it, it makes sense. "Lost in Thailand" was a low-budget film with an investment of four million, while "Confucius" was a big-budget production with an investment of 150 million. Under normal circumstances, everyone would treat "Confucius," which was made with 150 million, as their own son.

The release date for "Lost in Thailand" has been confirmed, December 5th, which is very close. Next, we need to prepare some arrangements for the film's release.

Fortunately, the movie "Lost in Thailand" has already become quite popular due to the milk drinking challenge, so there's no need to worry about promotion.

Time passed day by day, and before we knew it, it was December.

On the first day of December, "The Storm Riders 2" was released.

To be honest, Li Boda felt somewhat threatened by this movie, after all, the Fengyun IP is quite popular.

The first season of "Storm Riders" grossed 40 to 50 million at the box office in Hong Kong. Later, when the TV series was broadcast, its ratings even surpassed those of the Spring Festival Gala.

Although several years have passed, the movie "Storm Riders 2" still generated a lot of buzz upon its release.

However, when "Storm Riders 2" was released, its box office on the first day was only five million, which surprised Li Boda, but also put his mind at ease.

Although this five million is only half a day's box office, even if it were a full day, the box office should not exceed ten million.

With such a popular IP, it only grossed five million on its opening day. What is there to worry about?
As expected, in the following days, the box office of "Storm Riders 2" failed to rise and even continued to decline every day. Judging from this trend, the domestic box office of "Storm Riders 2" will only reach a maximum of 40 million.

The box office performance of the movie "Storm Riders 2" also made Li Boda stop focusing on it.

Before we knew it, the release date for "Lost on Journey" had arrived. Perhaps because Li Boda's previous film, "Night Shop," performed well at the box office, establishing a precedent, director Li Boda was somewhat valued. Or perhaps because the milk-drinking challenge was still very popular, the premiere of "Lost on Journey" attracted a lot of attention.

A group of media reporters surrounded the area. At the same time, this time, Li Boda's invitations were no longer limited to female stars who had a good relationship with him, but also included many male stars who came to support him after receiving the invitation to the premiere.

Many male celebrities greeted Li Boda warmly upon arrival, their words carrying a hint of flattery, fawning, and ingratiation. Many even expressed their hope to collaborate with Li Boda in the future.

Clearly, Li Boda's identity as a director has indeed been recognized by some people in the industry.

After all the audience members entered the cinema, Li Boda, Wang Baoqiang, Xu Shanzheng, and other key members of the production team stood on the stage and began to talk about some things that happened during filming, and then told a few funny jokes, which made the audience below the stage very happy.

Then, Wang Baoqiang actually brought up a bucket of milk, a full five liters.

"Many people doubt whether I actually drank all five liters of milk in one go. Now that I'm here, I'll show you all." Wang Baoqiang said with a simple smile, then picked up the five liters of milk and, in full view of everyone, started drinking it straight away.

Many people below stared wide-eyed at Wang Baoqiang without blinking.

Many reporters and media professionals were particularly happy at this moment, since Wang Baoqiang was performing drinking milk on the spot. Regardless of whether Wang Baoqiang could actually drink it all in one go, it was a great topic of conversation.

goo go go go...

The five liters of milk were visibly decreasing, and Wang Baoqiang really drank it all in one go without stopping until he finished it. Then, he held up the empty bottle to indicate that he had finished.

The audience responded to Wang Baoqiang with enthusiastic applause.

"Thank you—burp! I drank it all in one go—burp! It felt much smoother than during the previous shoot—burp. My stomach is stretched out—burp..." Wang Baoqiang chuckled as he spoke, burping.

The applause and cheers from the crowd below grew even louder.

Actually, the idea of ​​drinking milk wasn't conceived by Li Boda or anyone else; it was Wang Baoqiang's own request.

Wang Baoqiang really went all out to promote this movie.

Regardless, Li Boda's impression of Wang Baoqiang has indeed improved considerably. He thinks Wang Baoqiang is a really good person, and if there are suitable roles for him in the future, Li Boda is willing to continue working with him.

Wang Baoqiang's actions stirred up the emotions of the movie theater audience.

Soon, the movie began playing on the big screen.

The movie opens with Xu Shanzheng, wearing a wig, reprimanding his subordinates with sharp and sarcastic words.

This opening also made many viewers in the movie theater chuckle quietly.

When Tao Hong appeared as Xu Shanzheng's mistress, most viewers didn't feel anything. However, some people who knew the true relationship between Xu Shanzheng and Tao Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud, which could be considered an Easter egg.

And after Wang Baoqiang appeared, the laughter in the movie increased.

Especially the scene in the movie where Wang Baoqiang drinks milk.

This clip had already gone viral online, not to mention the milk-drinking challenge and Wang Baoqiang's recent milk-drinking performance.

So this scene in the movie still brought a knowing smile to some viewers.

However, once on the plane, Wang Baoqiang kept vomiting, trying to open the window, and wanting to get off the plane. His antics had the audience in the movie theater laughing hysterically, finding him incredibly funny.

Subsequently, the interactions between the characters Xu Shanzheng and Wang Baoqiang in the film had the audience laughing non-stop.

The minor difficulties encountered along the way, and the resulting comedic moments, made the moviegoers feel that the film was truly excellent and the ticket price was well worth it.

Many film critics and industry insiders have also agreed that "Lost in Thailand" is an excellent comedy film.

Many people now look at Li Boda differently.

After all, the difference between an actor and a director is enormous.

(End of this chapter)